Turing pharma CEO recedes from public after backtracking on drug price hike

Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli has bowed to public pressure and agreed to reverse the huge price increase of the life saving drug Daraprim. Shkreli sparked outrage after hiking the cost of the drug over 5,000 percent, from $13.50 to $750
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Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli appears to be receding from public view after reversing course on an extreme price hike of one of his company's drugs.(Photo: Mel Evans, AP)

The brash CEO of a pharmaceutical company under fire this week for an extreme price increase of one of its drugs apparently is done defending himself to the public — at least for now.

Martin Shkreli, the 32-year-old founder and CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, took his Twitter account private Tuesday night after commenting prolifically on social media this week in defense of raising the price of a drug called Daraprim by more than 5,000%. The price jumped to $750 per pill, up from $13.50. His account went dark after Shkreli told NBC News and ABC News on Tuesday evening that he would back off the price hike so the drug is more affordable but Turing still makes "a very small profit."

Turing Pharmaceuticals has not responded to a request for comment. Shkreli did not tell NBC or ABC what the new price would be. Daraprim is used to treat toxoplasmosis, a parasitic disease that especially affects people with weakened immune systems, such as those with AIDS. It is considered the leading cause of death attributable to food-borne illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In his most recent tweets still visible through a Google search, Shkreli repeatedly promoted his upcoming media interviews and said that "only 2,000 Americans take our medicine annually, making it one of the most infrequently used drugs."

The Daily Beast reported Monday that in response to outrage over Daraprim's new price, Shkreli had tweeted that it was "a great thing for society" and tweeted lyrics to an Eminem song referencing giving the media the middle finger.

A reporter for FierceBiotech said in a post Sunday that Shkreli called him a moron in a Twitter exchange where the reporter had asked about the reason for the higher drug price.

The controversy has spurred presidential candidates to weigh in on the rising cost of prescription drugs in the U.S. Hillary Clinton announced Tuesday a plan to lower the price of prescription drugs, after tweeting on Monday that Daraprim's price hike is "outrageous." Fellow 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, a senator from Vermont, along with Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) sent a letter to Turing Pharmaceuticals on Monday as part of an ongoing investigation into drug price increases by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. They asked the company to respond to a series of questions about sales of the drug.

Sanders and Cummings also wrote to the CEO of Valeant Pharmaceuticals last month to protest dramatic price increases for two heart drugs, Isuprel and Nitropress. Valeant raised the price for Isuprel more than 500% -- from $215.00 to $1,300 a vial -- and boosted the price of Nitropress by more than 200% -- from $257 to $800 a vial -- shortly after buying the drugs from Marathon Pharmaceuticals in February. Valeant is the only company that sells the medications, which can be life saving.

Turing acquired the rights to Daraprim in August and raised the price. The price hike first made news last week when USA TODAY wrote about it. Biotech stocks took a hit this week amid the controversy with Turing. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) has dropped 6% since Monday morning.

The controversy arrives at a time of growing concern the rising prices of drugs. New, brand-name cancer drugs now routinely enter the market at more than $100,000 a year.

But even prices for older generic medications — Daraprim was approved in 1953 — have risen, as well, in cases in which industry consolidation has left only one company to manufacture important drugs, said Steve Nissan, chairman of cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic.

Many drug prices today seem arbitrary, said Peter Bach, director of Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Center for Health Policy and Outcomes in New York.

Although drugmakers often claim their high prices aim to help them recoup the cost of their investment, Bach says companies seem to to ask "the price that they think the market will bear."

Nissen said Nitropress is a staple in his hospital's coronary care unit, and the price increase will cost the Cleveland Clinic millions of additional dollars a year.

Boosting the price of important heart drugs "doesn't make anybody any healthier," Nissen said. "It just enriches somebody who is gouging the public, and it's got to stop."

Laurie Little, a spokeswoman for Valeant, said the company "puts patients and customers first, and we’re proud of the work we do to promote innovative medicines that are preventing complications of chronic diseases, reducing hospital stays and visits to emergency rooms, and helping patients avoid major surgeries. Valeant is deeply committed to improving patient health, and we maintain patient-assistance programs to help patients who face financial obstacles.”